Sorry it has been so long since I posted! I am loving teaching school and find myself swamped with all that goes with getting a room ready and learning the ropes of teaching. I do really love it! My classes are wonderful, the kids are really fun to teach and love… and science is amazing, it is very fun to teach.

I have Saturdays, mornings and afternoons for my garden now. I have pulled everything out and am turning over the soil to plant my fall/winter garden. I am going to plant spinach, broccoli, green beans and kale. Kent wants me to plant potatoes again; I am going to try fingerlings! I think that would be so fun! I wont be able to plant until next weekend as this weekend I am getting our fourth daughter settled into college life. What a fun journey awaits her.

I want to say a big thank you for all the sweet kind comments and support I receive. I often get emails from gardeners telling me how their garden is growing and how it was building their boxes. I thought I would share a few. They always make my day! Good luck getting your garden going – I am very much looking forward to planting my winter garden soon. Pictures coming when I do. Have a blessed day!
Melanie

Recent emails I have received:

Dear Melanie,
I am so excited to have built my first bed! Took about 2 hrs including all the wood cutting, but I didn’t have a helper, and I am sure the next 3 will go faster. The plans you provided are EXCELLENT! very clear and simple! i can totally imagine your new 5th graders building these and learning gardening! i hope youll get that chance! i did make 1 change… i made my legs 36″long as im on the tall side.
I am so excited to use your bed design to convert our old boat parking pad into another garden. Thank you so much for sharing!
Diane
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love your raised beds. I have tried a couple of different ones in my own garden and ended up just going back to “flat” ground gardens. your idea I will try. raised beds are great but if your still have to stoop over what’s the point? your beds an be adjusted to whatever height is needed. our little town is trying to start a community garden and I will be showing your garden to the person in charge. really great.

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Hi Melanie,

The plans are fantastic, my husband has already built my first one! The plans definitely took the guess work out of getting started and helped my husband and I communicate about what I was trying to achieve.

Thank you so much! I will update you on how my garden grows!
Rebecca

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Hi Melanie
I’m finally getting ready to build and plant my garden–and have some help to do it! My gardening partner is asking about how often you have to rotate the soil in the tubs, and how you know you need to amend… (she’s used to gardening in the ground and is reluctant to use the raised beds.)

I’ve tried to look through your blogs–but there are many! have you posted specifically on how to keep your soil healthy using your system? or could you please give me some ideas?

Sandrina,
Hi! I have used my soil for over two years and am just now rotating it. I let my garden go for two months while I had kidney surgery and some weed seeds blew in and have sprouted so I am going to start with fresh soil again. If that hadn’t happened, I would keep the soil. I fertilize every week to keep the soil nutrient rich. Compost is a great way to boost the nutrients in your soil as well. I have a composter but got out of the habit of maintaining it. I find that weekly fertilizing the soil is all you need. Here is a blog post on fertilizers I use:http://www.raisedurbangardens.com/2013/04/caring-for-your-garden/

I hope that helps answer your questions. Good luck to you and if you have any questions when you build, feel free to email me.
Good luck with your garden!
Melanie

Melanie, Your Pinterest Link, The, “Follow Me on Pinterest”, Link is not working. When I’ve clicked on it, it goes to a white page with a bunch of words, and quotations. I tried the link from different pages of yours, but I get the same results. I tried to, “Find” you on Pinterest, however there are a few people with your same name. I tried clicking on a few, but they didn’t seem to match up with you.
Just thought I’d let you know

Thanks Kristen! I will check into it and get the link fixed. Thanks for letting me know. I changed my pinterest name to Science Doodles because I am teaching now and making all sorts of stuff for teachers. My new pinterest URL ishttps://www.pinterest.com/myscidoodles/